Al Sharpton

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

News about Al Sharpton, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jan. 20, 2015

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Rev Al Sharpton share stage at National Action Network's commemoration of Rev Martin Luther King's Birthday, each calling for civility and respect between public and police; friendship between the two men has ignited tensions among some police, after high-profile chokehold death of Eric Garner on Staten Island and shooting of two police officers in Brooklyn. MORE

Jan. 12, 2015

Interviews reveal that deep rift between Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Police Dept grew steadily for months before erupting into outright rebellion in wake of shooting deaths of two officers; de Blasio lost trust in series of political gaffes and miscalculations, including his close relationship with Rev Al Sharpton; mayoral aides contend police force is pushing back against reform-minded mayoral approach that dared to examine policing strategies in relation to race. MORE

Dec. 14, 2014

Prominent civil rights lawyer Sanford A Rubenstein, who has handled some of New York's most explosive cases of police brutality, stands to lose his career in face of rape accusation; started losing clients, including family of Eric Garner, after Rev Al Sharpton publicly cut ties with him. MORE

Nov. 20, 2014

Rev Al Sharpton, appearing at news conference, criticizes New York Times article that had explored his history of unpaid taxes, rent and other bills; says report was totally misleading and out of context. MORE

Nov. 19, 2014

Rev Al Sharpton, who has been honored by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and President Obama, has managed to avoid taxes, rent and other bills, and has more than $4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens against him and his for-profit businesses; he says he is paying both down, but his balance with state has grown in recent years; his National Action Network appears to have survived by not paying federal payroll taxes. MORE

Oct. 10, 2014

Jim Dwyer About New York column; Rev Al Sharpton cuts ties with Sanford A Rubenstein, lawyer who has been accused of sexual assault by woman who is leading figure in Sharpton's organization--The National Action Network; Sharpton and Rubenstein worked together on civil rights and police brutality cases for the last 17 years. MORE

Aug. 25, 2014

Rev Al Sharpton has transformed himself from an overweight Brooklyn firebrand into the White House’s civil rights leader of choice, an incessantly televised pundit, and even a poster child for a strict diet of salad and juice; seems a constant media presence, and never more so than in racially fraught crises, like police-related deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo, and Eric Garner on Staten Island. MORE

Aug. 21, 2014

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio gathers with religious leaders, including Cardinal Timothy M Dolan and Rev Al Sharpton, in attempt to ease tensions in wake of choking death of Eric Garner, black Staten Island man who died in police custody; de Blasio hopes to show leadership as racial divisions escalate ahead of planned protest march. MORE

Aug. 10, 2014

Rev Al Sharpton, seeking to defuse concerns over planned march across Verrazano-Narrows Bridge protesting aggressive police tactics, says march will instead be held on Staten Island, where Eric Garner died after being put in chokehold by police. MORE

Aug. 9, 2014

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will arrange meeting of religious leaders to help ease tensions between police and community leaders after death of Eric Garner, who died in police custody; is hoping that this meeting, which will be led by Cardinal Timothy M Dolan, will be more effective than one in July, where Rev Al Sharpton attacked New York City's law enforcement. MORE

Aug. 8, 2014

New York City officials appear to be distancing themselves from oversight authority over march across Verrazano-Narrows Bridge planned by Rev Al Sharpton as protest of the role police played in death of Staten Island man Eric Garner; there also appears to be confusion among organizers about who will be in charge of the event. MORE

Jul. 27, 2014

Rev Al Sharpton and the family of Eric Garner, who died after being put into chokehold by police on Staten Island, have asked federal prosecutors to investigate the death as a civil rights violation. MORE

Jun. 17, 2014

Growing tensions between Rev Al Sharpton and Rep Charles B Rangel add further uncertainty to congressman’s bid for re-election; Sharpton's none-too-veiled scolding to Rangel for race-baiting highlights how Rangel is fighting against time to maintain his generation's weakening grip on political power, while Sharpton is seeking to consolidate his own political influence in New York. MORE

Jun. 8, 2014

Rev Al Sharpton sends out stern warning against race-baiting in contest for 13th Congressional District in New York; message appears to be aimed at Rep Charles B Rangel of Harlem who repeatedly discussed race in a debate for the upcoming Democratic primary for Congress. MORE

Apr. 15, 2014

Michael Powell Gotham column; Rev Al Sharpton's ability to overcome controversy and bad press is shown in his dodging of latest revelations that he was an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation; labels Sharpton city's 'pre-eminent shape-shifter' and says journalists approach writing about him with great reluctance. MORE

Apr. 10, 2014

Annual convention of Rev Al Sharpton’s National Action Network begins in New York City, seemingly unaffected by reports of his being informant for Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1980s; Sharpton says controversy is boosting attendance at convention, with number of registrants this year estimated to be over 6,000. MORE

Apr. 9, 2014

Revelations about Rev Al Sharpton's involvement with Federal Bureau of Investigation are not new, but are drawing more attention, coming a few days before he is scheduled to host Pres Obama at the annual convention of his National Action Network; disclosures cast a light on a man whose life has had many chapters and a proximity to power. MORE

Apr. 8, 2014

Smoking Gun website reports that Rev Al Sharpton was an informer for the Federal Bureau of Investigation who had extensive dealings with Mafia figures in New York in the 1980s, secretly recording their conversations; site posts dozens of pages of documents that appear to provide details of Sharpton’s dealings with mob figures he knew from contacts in music industry; Sharpton says he was never told he was an informant. MORE

Apr. 4, 2014

New York City Police Commissioner William J Bratton and Rev Al Sharpton meet to discuss allegations of profiling by police in some city retail stores; central question has been who has been flagging certain shoppers as suspicious: police or store personnel; in allegations of profiling at Barneys New York and at Macy's, stores say police acted on their own, but Police Dept says stores directed them to stop specific individuals. MORE

Sep. 18, 2013

Joseph J Lhota, Republican nominee for New York City mayor, visits Rev Al Sharpton at Harlem headquarters of his civil rights organization, National Action Network; visit is largely symbolic, meant to show Lhota's willingness to reach out to leaders around the city, even those in communities that are highly unlikely to support a Republican candidate for mayor. MORE

Dec. 9, 2012

Rev Al Sharpton organizes rally in Harlem to denounce plan by Republicans and group of dissident Democrats to join together to preside over New York State Senate. MORE

Aug. 20, 2012

Community organizers and residents plan on occupying nine violence-plagued corners in all five of New York City's boroughs to protest rising violence in the city; demonstrations are being organized by the National Action Network, led by Rev Al Sharpton. MORE

Aug. 31, 2011

Alessandra Stanley The TV Watch column notes that Rev Al Sharpton has toned down his image and rhetoric for new job as commentator on MSNBC talk show PoliticsNation. MORE

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